What if, during the euphemistically named age of exploration, the Europeans had brought a milder version of smallpox to the Americas? One that didn’t have far-reaching and deadly effects on the Native American population? Spufford describes a continent, years later and between wars, full of economic, cultural and linguistic variety and conflict.
You could call this an alternative history novel. You could instead call it a hard boiled detective novel. It occupies the space between, much like its protagonist who is takouma, takata and taklousa without fully identifying as any. Highly recommended.
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